I was not the only crazy person walking around Castle Island today, although I was the only one not in a jacket (but at least I had the sense not to venture onto the fishing pier, onto which the occasional wave crashed). I watched boats jumping into waves and a fair number of seagulls and terns divebombing the choppy water (fish down there?). The planes heading to Logan swayed as the pilots fought the wind - and as their wings trailed streamers of mist.

Great balls of fire: The sun was actually out today! At least, for a few hours. One couple at Castle Island was able to reuse their umbrella as a parasol on the Castle Island fish pier.

Or maybe they were just getting ready again. Because even as kids scampered and adults jogged and sunbathed, menacing clouds were rolling in from the west (15 minutes after I left Castle Island, I was in Mattapan, where it looked like it was getting set to pour).

Meghan chronicles Teh Stupid on display at the edge of South Boston yesterday, including:

... the 4 shirtless men on the pier who were there for a day of fishing with 3 kids in tow. They had a cooler with them. They appeared very VERY drunk. And then we saw them drinking Goldschlager out of the bottle. EW. How drunk do you have to be to drink Goldschlager out of the bottle? When we left they were contemplating jumping off the pier. If you've never been to Castle Island, you probably won't understand that, but let me just say jumping off the pier into the very rocky edge of a very busy channel that is an entrance/exit of Boston Harbor is one of the more brainless things they could have done that day. ...

After dropping off old electronics stuff at the Bayside yesterday, the kidlet and I headed over to Castle Island for some lunch and to watch the harbor go by. We wandered around the fort and, whoa, the main gate was open and they were giving free tours (free tours on weekends through August). The history was interesting, the views from the top of the fort are wonderful and they've got all these cannons, several pointed at Logan. Most of them are plastic replicas - the War Department melted down the real ones during World War II for the metal - so Logan has nothing to worry about, which is good, since the larger cannons could shoot a ball three miles (or from the fort to Deer Island).

Our tour guide shows off the cannon bore:

The long line at Sullivan's:

Also, kids clambering all over the place:

Castle Island in the fog this morning.

Fog wraps around the Pru.

The Nothing envelopes Government Center.

Joe Dunckley took this great shot of the statue (click on it for another version and other sizes).

On a day like today, with yet more endless rain, some people might go see a movie or go to a museum or shampoo the rug or something. Naturally, I headed for rainswept, windswept Castle Island at the very tip of South Boston in the outer harbor.

At least I wasn't the only crazy person: